Werewolf (BBC)
A werewolf (also known as a Type 3) is a supernatural being who, upon the rising of the full moon every month, transforms into a fearsome, wolf-like monster. When not transformed, the werewolf cannot be distinguished from any human being, although their sense of smell and hearing seem to sharpen before and after the full moon. Many werewolves feel ashamed of their condition as once the full moon has risen they became a deadly creature over which they have no control. The werewolf curse is normally passed on when a human is bitten or scratched by a transformed or partially-transformed werewolf. There is no known cure for the werewolf curse, although it seems that air pressure has an effect on transformation during the full moon, although this usually results in the painful death of the werewolf. in his wolf form.]] Infection All werewolves were, in the past, once humans who were infected by the werewolf curse when they were bitten or scratched by a transformed or transforming werewolf. Werewolves are not as common as other supernatural beings, as werewolves, once in their wolf form, will attack to kill rather to infect, unlike other similar creatures such as Vampires. A werewolf will leave a lifelong scar or bite mark after infecting a victim. This makes werewolves relatively easy to identify whilst in their human state. It remains unknown if a child of a werewolf can inherit their parent's condition. Thomas McNair initally believed that he was the born son of two werewolves and had inherited his parents' curse, but a DNA test and scratches on his head confirmed that he had been infected naturally. However Nina's baby develops at a much faster rate than a human, suggesting that the child will inherit at least some traits, although it is currently unknown if this would include a transformation. Monthly transformation On every full moon, a werewolf will experience extreme pain whilst transforming from human into werewolf. It seems that the gravitational pull of a full moon triggers the werewolf curse just as it has an effect on the tides of the sea. They lose the ability to think like humans and become a savage monster, incapable of any empathy or thought. Once in their wolf form, werewolves will become highly aggressive towards any creature that comes within their reach and have been known to attack people they would love in their human form. The transformations themselves would kill a normal human within thirty seconds. The heart stops and shrinks by two-thirds, whilst the werewolf also experiences liver and kidney failure as all other organs must shrink as well. The werewolf, altough experiencing intense pain, will then stop screaming for a while, as their throat and vocal cords are tearing and reforming. The pituitary glands then attempt to ease the pain by flooding the body with endorphines, although this has little effect. Once the internal changes have taken place, the external changes begin. Fangs grow in. The finger and toenails grow out to form claws, whilst the face and skull reform to form a snout. The spine enlarges and seems to sprout small bumps onto the skin, whilst fur begins to sprout from all over the body. The skin under this fur also seems to become much darker as well. The eye changes from its normal colour into a yellow, more animalistic form. The body becomes hunched over although the werewolf retians the ability to walk on two legs. By this stage the werewolf has lost their human mind and has fully transformed into their wolf form. Upon completion, the wolf usually lets out a long howl. The werewolf may undress before tranforming to avoid destroying their clothes. , mid-transformation.]] It has also been shown throughout the series that, as the full moon approaches, the senses of smell and hearing are enhanced. Indeed they remain enhanced even after reversion to human form, probably returning to baseline human levels as the time goes on until the cycle begins again. Confidence and even a tendency towards aggression may be evident, given the occasion. The werewolf will also be in possession of extreme strength way beyond that of the strongest human. There also appears to be an increased appetite for sex, as is seen by werewolf George Sands when he ravishes a nurse, Nina Pickering, whilst on the cusp of a transformation. Indeed, George is later shown to be concerned that he may not be able to reach the same levels of performance later and fears Nina might lose interest in him if that happens. Even when not near a transformation, a werewolf possesses physical toughness and strength beyond a normal human's, due to the repeated organ failures and broken bones and subsequent healing that comes from the transformations. After the transformation, the werewolf will not retain any memory of their time in wolf form, although they may be able to remember some of the emotions that they felt. For instance George Sands remembered that he felt good after he killed vampire Herrick, and also remembered that his blood was cold. However, any recollection of a night in wolf form is very rare, as werewolves may travel hundreds of miles during the night and not know where they are when they awake. Ray remarks he remembers flashes of when he was a werewolf and that's how he found Josh. Significantly, although werewolves will attack other creatures while transformed, they will not attack other werewolves with which they have a close relationship. Although George attacked Lee Tully when the two were in wolf form after learning that Tully was the person responsible for 'infecting' him, the first time he and Nina transformed in close proximity to each other the two ended up having sex in wolf form. NcNair and his adopted son Tom demonstrating a pack-like attitude towards each other due to their connection as humans despite the lack of a biological connection between them. While mid-transformation, a human retains some degree of control over the wolf even if they cannot stop it, such as when George managed to go from a school to his flat while mid-transformation, McNair later passing over Mitchell to attack another vampire as even his feral state recognised that Mitchell himself wasn't a threat even if he was still slightly hostile to the other man. Treatment There are no known cure for the werewolf curse, although it seems that an increase in air pressure will prevent a werewolf from transforming during the full moon. This may be because the increase in pressure prevents the gravitational pull of the full moon on having an effect on the werewolf curse. However, this will result in the werewolf's veins increasing in size to the point that they burst, causing the werewolf to die of blood loss. Such experiments were carried out by Kemp, who was determined to exterminate any sort of supernatual being. in her wolf form.]] It does seem that a werewolf, whilst in their wolf form, will be reluctant to harm a person whom they love or feel close to. This was seen when George Sands became much calmer and less aggresive as soon as he saw his girlfriend Nina. Werewolves can attempt to prevent themselves from harming others by creating a scent trail using a meat carcass, leading to an isolated location where they know no one will find them. They then can create another scent trail in the shape of a circle, hoping that themselves in their wolf form will attempt to follow the trail all night rather than going to attack live prey. Taking sleeping pills before tranforming will put the werewolf into a deep sleep all night and is a safer option to allowing themselves to be free in their wolf form. However, it seems that anger that is built up during the month is let out on the full moon, and if the werewolf does not allow this anger out, they will adopt a much more aggressive persona in their human form and may find it uncontrollable to swear or be violent towards people. For this reason, sleeping pills are not seen as a realistic cure to the werewolf curse. Weaknesses Werewolves are unable to cross running water. This may be used to werewolves' advantage as they may trap themselves between two bodies of moving water (on an island in a river, for example) to prevent themselves from harming other people. It is not known if silver has any effect on werewolves however in the North American version it seems silver is a weakness, although McNair managed to kill a werewolf in a dogfight by stabbing it in the neck with a knife and slitting its throat, McNair himself being killed when Herrick stabbed his wolf form in the heart with a blade. This proves werewolves can be harmed by conventional weaponary, although they are usually so vicious their victim has no time to fight back. If a werewolf suffers a fatal injury in wolf form, it will not recover in human form, although their ability to heal in both states is still far above the human's. Attitude towards werewolves Werewolves have had a very hostile relationship with vampires, seemingly for centuries; teen vampire Adam claimed that this was because werewolves are 'part-timers' while vampires have to deal with their issues on a permanent basis. As supernatural beings can identify one another, werewolves can be spotted immediately by vampires, even in their human form. Some vampires will immediately attack a werewolf upon seeing them, whil e others trick them into coming with them to a private location where they can attack. Werewolves are often called 'dog' and 'digby' by vampires, and it is very rare to see the two species co-exis t peacefully, although this is the case with John Mitchell and George Sands. Despite their relationship with vampires, werewolves do not seem to have any particular hatred for other supernatural beings such as ghosts. Originally it was beilieved that vampires loathe werewolves beacause they saw them as 'lower life-forms' Herrick seemed especiallyy fond of deameanig werewolves like this, however the true basis for the hatred may be fear, as when fully transformed into there wolf forms werewolves are much stronger than vampires, it appears that werewolves, once transformed are the only things stronger than vampires something confirmed by Sally who says that the vampires were terrified by Josh. Known werewolves *Christa Stammers - a young female werewolf who attempts to live a normal life as a student in the same school as vampire Adam Jacobs and ghost Matt Bolton. in his wolf form in a forest on Barry Island.]] *George Sands - a hospital worker who was scratched by Lee Tully whilst on a holiday in Scotland in 2006. He attempts to live a normal life with vampire John Mitchell and ghost Annie Sawyer. *MacNair - a werewolf who lives on Barry Island with his son Thomas. He was infected in 1994 after he was forced to fight a werewolf in a dogfight. *Nina Pickering - a nurse who was accidentally scratched by her boyfriend George whilst he was transforming. *Thomas MacNair - son of McNair, he lives with his father in an abandoned van on Barry Island. *Lee Tully - the infector of George Sands. He was abandoned by his wife and son after they discovered his condition and is now homeless. *Wanda Bannister- She was bitten while playing in her grandmas Forest. She struggles with the condition and is still struggling to not try and hurt the ones she loves. *James Michael - Became a werewolf near 2001, still lurking in the woods because his wife abandoned him. Behind the scenes *The sceintific word for werewolves is Type 3, presumabley the third type of supernatural being discovered. *The concept of running water acting as an impenetrable barrier has never been applied to werewolves in the mythology of any culture. In fact it was said that vampires were unable to cross running water. *The scenes of George and Nina transforming were created by using anamatronics and CGI, whilst fur suits were used for other shots of them in their wolf form. Appearances Note: At least one werewolf, either in their human or wolf form, has appeared in every episode of Being Human﻿ to date. *George's Prequel Series 1 *Episode 1.1 *Episode 1.2 *Episode 1.3 *Episode 1.4 *Episode 1.5 *Episode 1.6 Series 2 *Episode 2.1 *Episode 2.2 *Episode 2.3 *Episode 2.4 *Episode 2.5 *Episode 2.6 *Episode 2.7 *Episode 2.8 Series 3 *Lia *Adam's Family *Type 4 *The Pack *The Longest Day *Daddy Ghoul *Though the Heavens Fall *The Wolf-Shaped Bullet Category:Supernatural Beings *